Superplastic, a Burlington, Vt.-based designer toy startup founded by Paul Budnitz (Ello, KidRobot), has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Craft Ventures.
Why it matters: This coincides with Superplastic trying to turn two of its most popular characters into virtual Instagram stars, a burgeoning niche.
- Investors besides Craft Ventures include Global Village, Betaworks, Canaan Partners, Shrug Capital and angels like Cyan Bannister, Scott Belsky and Scooter Braun.
The bottom line:
"Superplastic wants to continue to make money with toy sales, but Butnitz said that the expansion into digital media was also opening up additional revenue opportunities. This includes licensing its characters, and also brand endorsement deals similar to those of Instagram influencers."
— Janko Rottgers, VarietyGo deeper: Taylor Swift unloads on Scooter Braun's Big Machine deal
